| SKI FOR WOMEN! | Sunday Feb 14th, 2021 is the annual Mat-Su Ski for Women at GPRA. Don your favorite costume and come ski for a worthy cause. All proceeds benefit Alaska Family Services.
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Registration is in-person and begins at 11 AM. Covid has turned this into a start-when-you're-ready affair so people won't be clustered on the trails or in the stadium. Skiers can start anytime between 11:30-2:30. The Club will have a photographer on site to take photos as skiers come through our one-of-a-kind photo arch. The Golden Ski Pole will be awarded to the winner of the photo contest on the Mat-Su Ski Club Facebook page.
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Participants and spectators are encouraged to contribute feminine hygiene products, which will be distributed by Alaska Family Services to women and girls in need in our community. A split-the-pot contest will be held - 50% of the pot goes to a lucky skier and the other 50% will be donated to Alaska Family Services. Sweatshirts with this year's design, headbands, and other commemorative items will be sold throughout the day.
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| Thank you to our sponsors, Mat Su Health Foundation, for financial support, as well as No More Matsu for partnering with Mat-Su Ski Club to make this fundraiser possible. |
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| | Northern Lights Community Race #3 -Skiathlon | - Race 3: Sunday, February 21st at 1:00 - 4:00 PM at GPRA
- Skiathalon/mixed technique, 2 person relay. 1.5K or 5K leg distances.
| The Northern Lights Race Series is a fun-based competitive race series for skiers of all skill levels. |
- Attend 2-3 races for $30 per individual/family, or one race for $20 per family. Payment is accepted on the day of the race.
- Covid-19 protocols: Masks are required by all attendees except for racers when racing. Please practice social distancing at these races. Interval starts for racers between 1:00-1:30 PM.
- For more information, or to see the results from earlier races, check here.
| |  | Junior Nordics Fun Our season is past the halfway point, and the Junior Nordics skiers have had some good times on the trails! A huge shoutout to the hours our coaches, sweeps, radio montitors, bathroom scrubbers, steering committee, groomers, and many others who quietly go about their business so these kids can enjoy some time on skis during the winter.
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|  | | Northern Region of Southcentral Alaska High School Nordic Championship Races | | Friday and Saturday, February 19 and 20 at GPRA, expect Nordic races on the Matanuska, Susitna, and Denali Loops around midday and early afternoon. Trails may be closed during the races. Watch for updates at matsuski.org. |
| | Moonlight Ski Tour | | Mat-Su Ski Club's February Moonlight Ski Tour will be held under February's "Snow Moon" on Saturday evening, February 27th. Meet at the Independence Mine parking lot (at the end of the winter maintained road) and be ready to head out by 8:00 PM. |
This ski is intended for intermediate level skiers, with a long, gradual uphill, a ski around the mine, and a quick ski back down! Plan on about 1.5 hours of skiing. Mat-Su Ski Club grooms this trail for skiing, but it's also a walker and dog-friendly trail.
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A few things to remember:
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- There is no charge for this event, however be sure to pay $5 at the electronic kiosk at the parking lot if you don't have a state parking pass.
- Bring a headlamp in case pesky clouds cover the moon.
| | Groomer News | Mat-Su Ski Club's trail grooming crew has been busy keeping our trails in top condition this season. In fact, in January alone, the crew put in 238.25 hours of work! Donations help keep our machines moving. Please donate here!
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| We have a new XMR on tracks arriving soon to augment our GPRA grooming fleet. Just too many breakdowns and downtime with the old machines. With this acquisition we will have three tracked four-wheelers staged at GPRA; two old and tired ones prone to breakdowns, and a brand new one. The Club has the resources to replace worn-out grooming machines because of the consistent community support from you, our dues-paying members, and other individuals and businesses that donate to support us. |
We use the four-wheelers on tracks to drag Ginzu groomers on the GPRA trails. Usually a tandem team of two groomers, with one setting the classic tracks. A two-women team can groom most of the GPRA ski trails in about four hours, if all goes right. The tracked wheelers are the only machines used in the earliest and latest part of the season at GPRA. In midwinter we alternate GPRA grooming between the PistenBulley 100 and the tracked wheelers, depending on snowfall, availability of groomer-drivers, and events.
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| We welcome Justin Trice, Logan Schulz, and Glenn Steer, the newest additions to our driver gang. If you want to help groom, especially if you have experience driving snowcats, write us at info@matsuski.org |
| | Lorene Says | | We have gained glorious daylight hours, and lucked into a lot of blue sky days. Finger-chilling cold temperatures remind us: it is still winter, even if not for long now. It's a joy to get more hours of warming sunshine on the trails. Sunshine is a great motivation to face the cold. Everyone has their own rules of thumb, but mine says that if it's colder than 10 degrees, I put away my skate skis and go classic skiing. Unless you use specialty wax, skate skiing in cold temperatures can be a real grind. It feels like skiing on sand paper. Happily, that is exactly when a waxed classic ski flys. The Nordic trails at GPRA, Archangel, the Moose Range, and Independence Mine are all in great shape, they are being regularly groomed. The Club's homepage (scroll towards the bottom) has buttons to check the webcams, temperatures and wind at GPRA or the Moose Range or at Independence Valley with it's plethora of weather stations (Gold Cord Mine, Independence Mine, and Marmot ridgecrest) or near Skeetawk. Archangel doesn't have a weather station; it is usually between Skeetawk and Independence temperatures. We hope to see you on the trails! |
| | New Donors| Yvonne and Scott Goldsmith |
| | Loaner Ski Chariots | | Mat-Su Ski Club loans out single and double ski chariots for towing kids around the trails. Chariots are available for two weeks with the option of renewing, and are available to the public for FREE! For more info, click here! |
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| We have a batch of trail pins for just this season. If you already bought one, you can pick it up at Backcountry Bike and Ski, in downtown Palmer. Or at most Mat-Su Ski Club events. Get yours here. |
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